| He was in for a big hit
as the previous year was not very obliging. Aa Ab Laut
Chalen with Aishwarya Rai and Suman Ranganathan was a
moderate hit. But his latest film is a big
disappointment. Laawaris, which shares its name
with Amitabh Bachchan’s all time hit, does not even
come close to the original. It has the usual ingredients
of a ‘masala’ movie. As the name indicates, the movie is about
an orphan (Akshaye Khanna) who has no idea about his
birth or parentage. He grows into a goon called Captain
Dada who protects people in return of cash (Shiva
style). He comes a little close to being a misanthrope
who thinks that the world is bad and the people only
understand the language of violence. He gets into fight
every now and then.
The story takes a twist
when a lawyer and his wife, played by Jackie Shroff and
Dimple Kapadia, enter the scene with their son. They
sympathize with Captain Dada and take up the social cause
of humanizing him. In the process, our hero falls in love
with the lawyer’s assistance, Manisha Koirala, who
also happens to be the police commissioner’s
daughter. Love cures all. Captain Dada has a change of
heart. He changes his name to Vijay (Amitabh’s name
was also Vijay in the original) and starts a new life.
The story line lacks
punch and originality. The lyrics by Javed Akhtar are
simple but hummable. Jackie and Dimple have given, like
always, a very mature performance. Manisha has totally
wasted herself. After Dil Se and Kachche Dhaage,
it was quite distressing to see her only sing songs and
woo our hero.
The only saving grace of
the movie, fortunately for somebody, was Captain Dada. He
looked quite good in the rugged guise. It was not
intended, of course. He tried desperately to look
menacing and hurtful, as demanded by his character, but
his cute and innocent face deserted him.
Bad news for Akshaye
Khanna and good for us, if we don’t see it.
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